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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Iris EscarraSunday, September 11, 2010 Two South Florida elementary schools earn Blue Ribbon distinction Two South Florida elementary schools have been named national Blue Ribbon Schools: Mater Academy East Charter in Miami and Virginia Shuman Young in Fort Lauderdale. The prestigious distinction honors schools that are closing the achievement gap among low- income and minority children. It was given by the federal Department of Education this year to 304 schools nationwide. -Schools honored with the Blue Ribbon Schools award are committed to achievement and to ensuring that students learn and succeed," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. "Their work reflects the conviction that every child has promise and must receive a quality education." Mater Academy East Charter Principal Betty Riera credited the motivated teachers and engaged students at her school. -- KATHLEEN MCGRORY ..C.al i I.-1 L llF'YN �'1�P nwlxMVL+p944/ ' ig A Z f am a ,MA1,W1llllPJJDll n Sunday, Septernber 19, 2010 Why Johnny can't read: the cinematic version BY KATHLEEN McGRORY Hollywood director Davis Guggenheim knows public education is not a sexy topic. .-You're at a cocktail party . , . and people put on e take mile and they say, 'Oh, that's nice.' "they try to hide this look that says this guy is on a fool's errand.' But somehow, Guggenheim's film about the failures of our nation's public schools has become the most talked -about documentary since An Inconvenient Truth, the global - warming flick he made with Al Gore five years ago. Bill Gates has heralded it. The president of American Federation of "teachers has condemned it, Barack Obama's secretary of education has predicted it will create outrage among parents. "I made this movie for a very specific audience: regular moms and dads, neighbors who want a great school, but feel the issue is too complex," Guggenheim said. "1 wanted to make a film that cut through the politics and spoke to them directly." Waiting for 'Superman'starts out with a simple premise: Although the United States spends more than $9,000 per child for schooling -- more than most other developed nations -- our children still lag far behind in math and reading. It poses the question: Why, then, are public schools not producing better results? Guggenheim dissects the problem in a comprehensive, yet easy -to -understand way. The schools, he says, are literally waiting for a super hero to save them. j5 KIDS, 5 STORIES I To drive the point home, the film follows five children. They come from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, but each one is hoping for a better future IJ d For each, the solution is a charter school. lj Chaoet schools are publicly financed, but run by private organizations, not local school boards. The charter schools featured in the film are among the most successful in the country. But because demand far exceeds supply, each child must be entered into a lottery, Take Daisy. Daisy is a fifth -grader in East Los Angeles who wants to be the First in her family to go to college. Atier that, she wants to become a doctor Or a nurse or a veterinarian, If Daisy stays in her neighborhood school, she has only a 40 percent chance of graduating from high school. She has a l4 percent chance of being accepted at the high -performing charter school in town. FINGERS CROSSED The film follows Daisy and her family to the charter school lottery, where they cross their fingers and hope her name will he one of the 10 names calledit's an anxious and wrenching moment that shines light on the plight some families face. ""the thing that was a revelation to me was that we have these lotteries where literally, families go and play bingo with their kid's future," Guggenheim said. 'You just don't think that kind of thing happens in America." Guggenheim makes his point in an emotionally stirring way. But besides a passing reference, he ignores the fact that most charter schools are no better than the traditional schools in their neighborhoods. �i'..... Like traditional public schools, charter schools run the gamut. Some, dike the schools in the Harlem Children's Zone, are successful. Others have low test scores and, at the high school level, high dropout rates. 11 . ir,ulsetile ly r'vslcrd 0aro 5rnll s l''Rrrki +where waarr°te of the ,t,ftu,o ssllook ott11err l lse RrlMet ac ttienooas ,twaal Ars 1111114' leernx schools, t"or example„ earn ,atnroae�F flue liighe.tt I t u11 scores in the rtas1e. But some schools managed by the Miami -Dade district -- such as the Maritime and Science Technology Academy, Coral Reef Senior and Ada Merritt K-8 Center -- are also tops in Florida. "I don't think charters are the silver bullet," Guggenheim said in an interview with The Miami Herald. "But the ones that are doing really well have proven that you can go into even the toughest neighborhoods and educate every kid. They are providing us with the solutions." The competition between traditional schools and charters is just one of the controversial elements of the film. t also criticizes teachers' unions for protecting bad teachers with tenure and opposing merit pay. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, is eatured throughout the film -- mostly as an impediment to reform. IRKING THE UNIONS ggenheim's treatment of the unions has been polarizing. Weingarten called the film "inaccurate, inconsistent and incomplete." . ✓✓I KfY;41 /I,IL'�.I.daQG v/IUIYIAN)LL'01�L"lhlpll�i�LL .... 1,,,,n.." MEL✓�IGU tVlUkftlfMlOil7f1 }pY7ORINv Ynwvprryrir'7ga.fi rs' mnryyhht a y9rb I vu i ypy rVPiMlff j Are there bad teachers? Of course there are, just as there are bad accountants, and lawyers and actors," she wrote in a statement. "There also are countless good, great and exceptional teachers working in our public schools every day in neighborhoods across the country." Locally_ the United Teachers of Dade President Karen Aronowitz has said she is open to new. scores. Hance pay provisions that take into account more than just test Guggenheim said he isn't anti -union. In fact, he is a member of a union himself. I think the teachers should always have a union and the union should protect them," he said. "Unions are good, but they cannot get in the way of reform." HG>iting fur 'Superman' also takes on the school district bureaucracies and the politics that play out at the expense of children. Guggenheim tells the story of Michelle Rhee, the D.C. schools chancellor who closed two dozen failing schools and ousted subpar principals in her first year. Rhee argued that children deserved better. But some parents, teachers and politicians rallied together in an attempt to maintain the status quo. In many cases, the system works, but for the adults," Guggenheirn said. "These are powerful adults who have organized to keep things comfortable. But if we're going to fir the schools, we have to make things uncomfortable." For all of his criticism, Guggenheim also gives examples of what works. He spotlights successful charter schools like the KIPP Academies. He shows how strategies like longer school days, Saturday classes and highly qualified teachers are changing the face of public education. We are at a moment in time where this wave is building and building," he said. "Politicians are focused on education. People are angry about it.... And what makes the wave so potentially powerful is that we now know what works." The controversy surrounding Rhee, Weingarten and charter schools has no doubt added to the buzz around the film. It has spurred long write-ups in national magazines and debates on television. OUT OF THE SHADOWS "Because of the success of In Inconvenient Truth, people are saying this film will open our eyes to yet another ongoing issue that we keep putting into the shadows," said Sam Grogg, dean of the University of Miami's School of Communications. The film has also gained traction because the topic is something everyone can relate to, Grogg said. "Every once in a while, a documentary will come along and capture the imagination of the public. I think this picture will march its way to Oscar contention." Guggenheim Is hoping to seize the momentum in support of schools. "I know a film can't educate a kid," he said. It can't write policy. But it can bring people together. It ca.n connect the dots." Warring for 'Superman' opens Sept. 24 in New York and l.,os Angeles, the following month in South Florida.